


A King Without a Crown

by LailaWolf



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Merlin-like kingdom, a lot of traitors, everyone dies, like the gods are the only historical references, no historical references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-02-19 05:37:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13117158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LailaWolf/pseuds/LailaWolf
Summary: Princess Alex is so done with her duties. She doesn't want to be a princess of a large realm. The fact that she looks weird and acts different gets her labeled a witch. Thank the gods for her father. (for now) When Alex meets a killer, she immediately fell in love with him. But this boy will surely get Alex killed, especially since he acts with Alex's mother.Magnus Chase is so freaking annoying because he was caught. His team and himself are found and there is only enough time for Mallory and Halfborn to escape. Magnus is set on trial, where he meets the princess. The princess is beautiful and when she visits Magnus at his cell, he immediately knew that she was hiding something and he was going to find out what.





	1. A New Story

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, guys, horrid summary. I hope you like this fic and if you like Uncle Rick's books look at another one of my fics, The Words of Love. I feel like the Fierrochase ship needs more attention. Anywho, in this fic Alex is a little less careless and a little bit less Loki. Magnus is a little bit better at killing monsters, not humans. He is also a little less of a sweetheart. Sorry, for making Magnus and Alex different.

 

Darkness. That’s all Alex saw. Then, came the light. It sparkled with gold and red. The light took shape into a crown. A crown Alex wore every day since the coronation and she hated it. But she wasn’t a she in her dreams, she was always a boy in his dreams.  Alex was genderfluid (an argr), but he couldn’t tell anyone. If he did he would be branded an enemy of the gods. The same ones that made his family.

 

   His father might have been the king of Scandinavia, the person who knew everything, didn’t know Alex’s secrets, no one knew about his secrets. Not yet at least.

 

     He felt someone touch her shoulder. Alex opened his eyes. He saw his half-sister, Sam, smile at him. Alex turned herself female, thinking about the dress she was going to wear today. As Alex rose from her canopy bed and frowned at Sam. Sam’s full name was Samirah al-Abbas. Sam was Muslim so she was in servitude to the king and usually wore a hijab. Today, she wasn’t wearing a hijab today. 

 

     Sam looked more tired than usual today, “Last night, the guards brought a murderer in the dungeon. Your schedule will start with his trial and then you can go riding into the woods to train with Amir.” Amir was Sam’s fiance. “Don’t worry, Sam. I won’t do anything stupid,” Alex laughed as she walked over to her dresser, picking up the dress, she had set out the previous night.

 

     Alex walked over to the mirror, where Sam was waiting with the golden crown. Alex shivered as Sam put the golden crown on Alex’s head. Her mind flashed to the first time the cold golden metal had touched her head. “Sam, where am I supposed to meet Amir?” Alex murmured as she clasped the clasp on her white cloak. “Amir is meeting you at the clearing at the edge of the forest,”  Sam said as she opened the large oaken door. 

 

    Alex’s high heeled boot echoed as it clanked against the hard stone floor. Why do I have to be there for the stupid trial, Alex thought, if he killed a bunch of people, kill him. She banged the giant doors that lead to the throne room, open. “Father,” Alex said angrily. “Alex,” her father said calmly. Alex said down on the smaller silver throne.

 

    The doors opened and one of the soldiers that Alex actually knew walked inside. Thomas Jefferson Jr. or T.J. was African with dark skin and dark hair. He stood in front of the king and bowed. “Sire, we found the murderers, but we only caught one. We don’t know that much just that he was staying with two of the others. My men and I will check the campsite again, just to be sure,” T.J. said. “Bring in the prisoner,” the king yelled.

 

    The giant doors were pushed away. Two men held a boy between them. The only thing you were able to see of him was his long, blonde hair. “The only thing we could get out of him was his name, even that he barely muttered,” T.J. said. “What is your name, boyo?” her father said.

 

    The boy raised his head. Alex stifled a gasp. He. Was. Handsome. The boy’s eyes were dull, gray and shined with power. “My name is Magnus. Magnus Chase,” he murmured. “Magnus Chase, we have barely any evidence that connects you to do the murders. You will remain in our custody until further notice,” the king said and turned to the guards, “Take him to the dungeons. Everyone else is dismissed.” The king rose and walked out, everyone else shuffled out of the room after the king. The guards took Magnus to the dungeons.

 

      Alex stood from her throne. She nodded at Sam dismissing her. Alex waited for everyone to leave except the guards on duty. She quietly walked to the dungeons. She quickly made her way to Magnus’ cell. He was in the shadowed corner of the cell clutching a necklace. “Why are you in this cell?” Alex asked him. He didn’t look like somebody who could get caught easily. Magnus was smaller than all the other crazy murderers Alex had met. “Why do you hide who you are?” Magnus murmured raising his head.

 

    Alex stared into Magnus’ dull, gray eyes, “What do you mean?” “Your hair. You color it and cut it, making yourself different from other girls,” Magnus said. “I make a point with this hair. It gives me a reputation and I never hide,” Alex said. Magnus chuckled. “Why do you kill people?” Alex said grabbing the cell’s bars. He stood and his eyes blazed with anger, “I never wanted to be a murder,” he walked over and grabbed the bars where Alex’s hands were. A spark surged through Alex’s hand, through her arm and straight into her heart. She resisted the urge to smile.

 

      Somebody grabbed her waist and a spear poked Magnus in the stomach. He ran back into the shadowed corner and sat still holding the necklace. “Are you alright, Princess?” a soldier asked. “I am alright, soldier,” Alex muttered. She walked away thinking about the spark that she had felt. Then as she went over what happened, she remembered what was on the necklace. It was the rune of Frey, just a simple F. 

 

      Alex stopped, as she realized, she was at the stables standing in front of one of the horses. She put one of the saddles on the horse and lifted herself on it. The horse started running straight for the woods, where Amir was going to teach her to fight. Alex reached the clearing sooner than anticipated. Amir was waiting for her with a sword at hand.

 

       “Why are you so late?” Amir asked. “I was delayed with the prisoner and the trial,” Alex answered. “This prisoner is he from the band that killed all those people?” Amir asked. Alex nodded, taking out her garrote. “Today’s lesson is on disarming and defending. Remember what I told you a few training sessions ago, how to swipe your garrote. And go!” Amir said and they began the fight.

 

      Amir and Alex circled each other. Alex swiped her garrote at Amir, which he deflected with his sword. Amir came closer and launched himself at Alex.  She dodged and was able to scrape his shoulder with her garrote. Amir held his shoulder and laughed as he removed his hand. A tiny stream of blood was soaking his clothes. Alex smiled and threw the garrote at Amir. He tried deflecting it with his blade, but that’s exactly what Alex wanted. The garrote wrapped itself around the sword and Alex pulled at it. Amir’s sword went flying and landed in Alex’s open palm. She clutched the hilt and smiled.

 

       “Great job, Alex! You are starting to get professional,” Amir laughed. “Thanks, Amir, for everything,” Alex said as she leaped on her horse and rode off. Alex rode for the rest of the day. She stopped at one of the streams to let the horse drink. As Alex sat at the rocks, she thought about what had happened at the dungeon with Magnus. 

 

       She had heard about how Freya, the goddess of beauty and love, chose which two people should get married. People had described a spark of electricity when they touched their “soulmate”. Alex didn’t think that criminal was her “true love”. She was to be a queen when her father died and none of her people.

 

      Alex looked around, nobody was around. She decided to become a he. Alex looked at his reflection in the stream. His green hair sparkled in the sunlight. Alex looked at his  heterochromia iridium (different colored eyes). One of them was light amber and the other was dark brown. People thought that when Alex was a girl, he was a witch. The truth was Alex’s mother had a secret only Alex and his father knew.

 

     “This is the girl you chose?” a male voice said. Alex looked up. He barely saw the outline of a man and woman. The man had long golden hair and sky blue eyes. The man also had a golden beard the same as his hair. The woman looked like the man. The same golden hair and blue eyes. “Yes, brother dear, this girl will be perfect,” the woman said. “She is not perfect enough for my son, sister,” the brother told her. “Nobody is perfect enough for my precious niece, I know that, but this girl is perfect,” the sister said. “We shall see,” the man said and both siblings disappeared in a breeze.

 

      Alex was quite shaken. He ran for the horse. Alex jumped on the horse and rode off. As Alex rode towards the castle, he turned back into she. When the horse and Alex finally reached the stables the sun was setting, bathing the sky with gold, orange, and red light. She ran for the dining room where she and her father were supposed to have supper at this very moment. Alex pushed the doors open breathlessly.

 

     “I am sorry for being late, Father,” Alex muttered. “It is alright, daughter, I can smell that you were out riding,” her father said raising his fork and taking a bite of chicken. “Alex, am I to understand that you were attacked by our new prisoner?” the king said as he had finished chewing. “No, Father, I was not attacked. The boy grabbed my hands. I would not call that an attack,” Alex said quietly as she began eating her own food. “I will not permit my daughter to talk to lower people than her. That is why I am giving you this,” Alex’s father said, snapping his finger. A servant came in holding a red velvet pillow with something sparkling on it.

 

     The king rose and grabbed the item from the pillow. It was a dagger on a belt. The king motioned for Alex to rise. She did. Her father put the belt on Alex’s waist, right under her golden garrote. “You will only take this knife away when you go to sleep, my daughter,” her father said, kissing Alex’s forehead. They sat once more to eat their supper.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

     Alex walked toward the prison once more. The dagger around her belt was a tad annoying when she walked. When she reached the guards, Alex showed them the dagger and they let her pass. Magnus in the same position as that morning. “The princess returns,” he whispered as Alex approached him. Alex grabbed the key from the wall next to the cell and unlocked the cell door and opened it. She walked inside and closed the door behind her. 

 

      Walking with no fear, Alex sat down right next to Magnus. He looked surprised for a second then his face changed to neutral. “Hi, Magnus! Why are you here?” Alex said, reaching for Magnus’ shoulder-length hair. He moved away. “What do you want and why are you reaching for my hair?” Magnus exclaimed, jumping up.  “I asked you a question!” Alex said seriously. “I did, too!” Magnus said, his voice had a touch of whining. Alex pointed at the ground with a finger and Magnus sat.

 

      “I am here because a soldier grabbed me and attacked my friends,” Magnus murmured. “So you have friends, that’s nice,” Alex said and rose from the cell floor, “Nice chatting with you, Magnus.” Magnus stared at her with confusion and wonder. Alex lingered for a moment on his perfect pink lips as if wanting to kiss them. “I will come tomorrow morning to continue our little chat,” Alex said and smiled, heading for the door.

     Alex pushed the cell door open and closed it behind her. She locked it behind her and looked at Magnus. He was back in the corner and still held his necklace, the same way he had that same morning. As Alex left the dungeon, she thought how much she had wanted to touch Magnus’ hand to figure out if the spark appeared. 

 

     Before going back to her room, Alex left for the library. She wasn’t much of a library person but right now she needed a book, her father had made Alex read. It was a book of the Norse gods (I think it was called Powerful Deities and How They Look). She walked over to the librarian, Helgi. “What are you doing here, Princess?” he asked. “I am looking for an old book. It is called Powerful Deities and How They Look,” Alex said. “That’s one of the oldest books in the library. Why do you need it, Princess?” Helgi asked, getting up from his desk. “I was just trying to remember something about Frey and Freya,” Alex answered. 

 

    Helgi walked to the far side of the library. He walked between two shelves and want straight for the last section of the second shelf. He took out a really old looking from between two other really old looking books. Alex didn’t remember it looking so old or dusty. Helgi blew the dust away from the book and handed it to Alex. “Do you need anything else, Princess?” he asked. “No, thank you,” she said and gave Helgi a tiny smile. He walked back the way they had come. 

 

    Alex looked at the book. The title was written in large golden twisty letters. Around the title, pink roses were painted. The picture on the cover was of Odin with his two ravens on his shoulder and he held a golden spear. On his head was a helm with feathers. Alex was a little freaked out by his face. It was regal, yet a tad cruel. She looked out the nearest window it looked at about ten p.m. and she had to go back to her room.

 

    When she finally returned to her room, Sam was waiting with her hands on her hips, an angry look on her face. ”Sorry,” Alex muttered. Sam couldn’t stay angry at Alex. she quickly drew a bath and soon Alex was sitting in her sleeping gown with a cloak on her shoulders and staring at the smaller mirror on her desk. She had taken off the horrid crown and Sam had set it on a velvet pillow on one of the tables. “Well I should be leaving,” Sam said. “I will see you tomorrow, Sam,” Alex said. “Good night, Alex,” Sam said and left the room. 

 

    As soon as the door was shut, Alex rose to her feet and grabbed her book. She immediately opened it to the Frey and Freya pages. As her eyes settled on Frey’s description. The book said, “Frey is a very handsome man. He has golden hair and beard and any woman is lucky to attract his attention.” Alex groaned at that sentence but continued on. “His eyes are the color of the summer sky are kind, yet powerful,” the book continued. Alex looked at the picture and gasped at the picture. It was the same man, she had seen by the stream. She looked at Freya.

 

    The book’s description said, “Freya is the most beautiful woman on any world. Any man would love to attract her attention. Her golden locks are not as strong as Thor’s wife, Sif, but still beautiful. Her eyes match her brother, Frey. Her eyes are kind and very bright.” Again, Alex looked at Freya’s picture and once more gasped. It was the woman from the stream. Alex slammed the book closed and breathed deep and hard. She had heard gods talk about her. But there was still a giant question. Who was Alex perfect for? The only thing she knew was that, that the mystery person was a boy and a son of Frey, for that matter. If Freya had chosen Alex for somebody then a spark should have appeared.

  
    Alex realized at that moment who it was.  _  It can’t be,  _ Alex thought,  _ there is no way in Helheim.  _ Alex rubbed her temples. She needed sleep. Alex walked over to the bed and laid on it. Soon, she had finally fallen asleep and for once, Alex slept as a girl.


	2. The Prisoner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of short and super duper late. Sorry, guys, I was super lazy and I am writing two other fanfics. Anyway, I'll try to write the next chapter faster and make it longer. See you, guys, later.

Magnus’ head throbbed like crazy. You get hit in the head one time and you feel like you are dying. That wasn’t exactly what had happened, but let’s start at the beginning. 

 

    Magnus had specifically told T.J. to falsely lead the soldiers to the east side of the village, because Magnus, Mallory, and Halfborn had set up camp on the west side. But T.J. had led the soldiers in the west and had stumbled into the camp. At least Mallory and Halfborn had escaped during the attack. The only problem was that Magnus didn’t escape. One of the soldiers had hit Magnus on the head, knocking him out.

 

    The soldiers had tied Magnus to a horse. They had ridden through the entire night. When Magnus finally awoke, he found two guards had untied him off the horse. As soon as he was off the horse, the same guards cuffed his hands together. Another man walked towards him. He sneered, “The king will see you now, murderer.” Magnus could tell that he was the general of the guards. The two guards grabbed Magnus and half dragged, half carried him to a long hallway.

 

    The hallway was covered with armor, weapons, and pictures of gruesome battles. On one of the pictures was the current king chopping the head of a criminal. It was horrible. It was painted with a lot of details. Blood was over the painting making Magnus want to puke. The general sneered at Magnus, “That’s what can happen to you, murderer.”

    Finally, they reached large double doors. They were opened and the general walked away as Magnus was dragged inside. He kept his head down with his hair over it. He noticed that T.J. was speaking to the king, then the king turned to Magnus. “What is your name, boyo?” the king asked. Magnus lifted his head and murmured, “My name is Magnus. Magnus Chase.” Then he noticed the princess.

 

    If Magnus was bad at controlling his emotions, he would have stared. The princess-Alex was it her name- had short, green hair and her roots were dark browns. She had heterochromia-different colored eyes-one eye was light amber and the other was dark brown. 

 

     The king spoke once more, “Magnus Chase, we have barely any evidence that connects you to do the murders. You will remain in our custody until further notice.” He then turned to the guards holding Magnus, ”Take him to the dungeons. Everyone else is dismissed.” The guards lifted Magnus and led him down a different hallway than the one they came from. 

 

    The cell was smaller than he imagined. As soon as he was locked inside, Magnus went to the farthest corner and took out his runestone necklace. The Fehu rune glowed with golden light. It wasn’t a very bright light, but it meant something. Magnus heard footsteps coming his way. He tried looking smaller in the corner. 

 

    Princess Alex walked into view. Magnus looked at her. “Why are you in this cell?” she asked. The question caught him by surprise, but he knew the exact comeback to catch her off guard. “Why do you hide who you are?” he asked. Her eyes shone with confusion. “What do you mean?” the princess asked. Magnus thought about her question for a second. “Your hair. You color it and cut it, making yourself different from other girls,” he said, finally. The girls he had met had been either like Mallory-very aggressive and violent- or like his mom-fun and sweet, always nice. “I make a point with this hair. It gives me a reputation and I never hide,” Alex said. At once, Magnus knew that the princess hid something about her self-making him a tad intrigued. Magnus chuckled.  “Why do you kill people?” Alex said grabbing the cell’s bars. That took the cake. He stood and his eyes blazed with anger, “I never wanted to be a murder,” he walked over and grabbed the bars where Alex’s hands were. 

 

    A spark surged through his hands and through his body.  _ No. Not possible,  _ Magnus thought.  _ She can’t be the one. She just can’t be.  _ Magnus was a tad scared about what was going to happen. 

 

__ A spear poked him and he stumbled back. A guard had poked him in the stomach. He saw the princess walk away and he walked back to the corner of his cell. It was dark and shadowy and Magnus was very angry at himself for getting caught. Technically, it was T.J.’s fault, but Magnus never blamed anyone. It wasn’t in his nature. He tried to always be kind, but ever since his “master” found him, his personality had changed. 

 

_  Stop your thinking. I’m trying to sleep,  _ Sumarbrander murmured in Magnus’s head. “Sorry,” Magnus answered out loud. Sumarbrander or Jack as he was sometimes called. Magnus got him from his father, Frey, right after his mother had died. Natalie had died when Magnus was sixteen. It wasn’t pretty. Two blue-eyed wolves had snuck into the house and had set off a fire, burning or perhaps eating Natalie. Nobody knows. Magnus sighed. It was going to be the worst day or days ever. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

    Magnus awoke with his back stiff. Sleeping on the ground is not nice. He stood up and stretched. Looking around his tiny cell he noticed a dish with a small piece of bread and a cup filled with some murky water. He walked over there and took a sip of the water. He stopped himself from puking it away. He needed the strength. He ate the piece of bread and sat in the corner again.

 

    Magnus heard footsteps and the princess came into view. He looked at her as Alex opened and closed the cell door behind her. She walked over to him and sat down sighing. “How are you today, Magnus?” Alex asked, sounding a tad tired. “I’m alright, but you sound tired,” Magnus pointed out. “Well,  I didn’t get a lot of sleep,” Alex said, yawning. “So, Magnus, who is your mom and dad?” Alex asked. The question took Magnus back, but he answered the question, anyway. “My mother is dead and I don’t know my father,” Magnus said calmly. That wasn’t a complete lie. He had never met Frey, he just knew that he was Magnus’s dad. Loki had told him when he had recruited him. “So, who’s your mom?” Magnus asked. Alex sighed, “I don’t know, but everyone tells me that my mother had been really nice at first, then she had done something right after I was born. The people threw her out and my father couldn’t do anything about it.” 

 

    Magnus was surprised. He expected that Alex’s mom had died during childbirth. It was a bit awkward after that. Alex looked out the window, stood and walked to the cell door, “Sorry, but I have to go. One of the soldiers is teaching me how to fight.” She stopped, realizing what she had just said. “Ugh, just forget what I said,” Alex said, closing and locking the door, behind her. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

    As Alex walked away, she thought about what she had said. Alex didn’t like sharing what had happened to her mother. But when Magnus had shared what happened to his parents, she decided that he deserved to know. When Alex had said that she was off to train with Amir, that was an accident. She didn’t know why she had said that. Well, she had said it and that was that.    


	3. for Truth and Justice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man do I suck. I cannot believe myself. It's been months. I hope you guys aren't angry.

    Alex watched as her father paced the throne room. His pace was fast and angry. One of the knights had said that the band of murderers had escaped, again. “Father, calm down. We shall find them and we will get justice,”  Alex said. Only she could calm her father in these situations. And even then it was hard. 

     “Daughter, I know you have been visiting the prisoner this past week. Has he given up any information?’ the king asked. Alex was a bit taken back. In all the days, she had talked with Magnus, he had given nothing up. But as she looked back on her conversations, she remembered something. During their first conversation, Magnus had said that he didn’t want to murder people. This was it; the accusation that they were looking for.  

     “Alex?” 

     “I’m sorry, Father, but no, I can not think of anything,” Alex lied. There was something that Magnus was hiding and she was going to find out what. 

     “I want you to continue talking with the boy, Alex, find everything you can out,” the king said. Alex nodded and stood. She walked off, straight towards the dungeons.

 

    When Alex arrived, Magnus was still sleeping. “Oy, mother,” Alex said. She grabbed the key and opened the door, quietly. She also closed it, quietly. Alex sat down next to Magnus’s sleeping form. “You know I didn’t tell my father that you’re an actual murderer,” Alex mumbled, clearing away Magnus’s hair from his face. “You know, there are many people who would want to be with me. They think I’m a sight for sore eyes. I don’t understand them. I don’t want to fall in love,” Alex said, leaning her head against the cell wall. “I don’t know why I am telling you this. I guess ever since my father told me that an English prince wanted my hand in marriage, I have been going crazy and well since the day you came in the court I’ve liked you,” Alex continued. 

 

    Magnus had just started waking up when Alex had said that. The only words he heard were  _ I’ve liked you.  _ “I like you, too” he muttered. Magnus stood and sat next to Alex.

 

    “So you heard all of that, huh?” 

 

    “Not all of it; just that part.” Alex looked in Magnus’ grey eyes. She smiled at him, searing this moment into her head. Magnus and her sitting alone and smiling at each other.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~23 Days Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

    Alex woke up to the sound of the warning bells. She stood up and looked outside the window. From the window, Alex was able to see the entire north side of the capital. The giant wall the surrounded the city had something red drawn on it. 

    The door burst open and two guards and Samirah walked in. “Sam, what is going on?” Alex asked. The guards walked out and took a post at the door. 

 

    “You remember the murderer?” Sam asked. Alex nodded. “His team send a message, ‘Bring us our friend or die. XOXOXO the killers.’ in blood. The king has ordered his execution in an hour. The king wants you to be there.”

 

    “No,” Alex whispered. She quickly got dressed and speed walked to the courtyard. It had taken her thirty minutes to get there, but her father had already taken his sword out and Magnus was in chains in front of the king. The execution was already starting. As the king raised his sword over Magnus’s head, the realization hit Alex hard in the face. Alex liked him. It has might be more, but for now, that's what she felt. 

 

    “This boy, or is he a man, has been convicted for murder. The evidence is on our great wall, written in blood. To this day, our city has been safe and now these people are going to kill us because of this boy. I will give you what you want and Magnus Chase’s blood will be spilled,” the king yelled at the crowd of common people that had gathered. He raised the sword higher, but before the king could bring down the sword, Alex stood in his way. “Daughter, get out of the way.”

 

    “I will not, Father. You should leave him alone if you don’t want to get hurt,” Alex said.

 

    “What can you do? You can’t fight, you are just a little girl,” the king said.

 

    “You underestimate me, Father,” Alex growled. She took out her garrote which stood as a belt. Alex let it fly and it wrapped itself around the king’s sword. Alex pulled and the sword flew out of his hand and the sword embedded itself in the stone near them. The king’s eyes widened. He ran to retrieve it. 

 

    Alex took out her dagger and started cutting at the chains. “What are you doing?” Magnus whispered. 

 

    “Saving your ass,” Alex whispered back, slightly angrily. 

 

    “Look out!” Magnus yelled. Alex moved just in the nick of time. Her father’s sword hit where she had been standing and Alex saw her reflection in it. The sword had broken one of Magnus’s chains. Alex smiled as a plan formed in her head. Alex looked at her father straight in the eyes and smiled. It wasn’t a nice and sweet smile, it was cold and cruel and dark.

 

    The king straightened his back with his sword in hand, he looked quite regal and intimidating. Alex wasn’t at least a bit scared. “I AM JACK FIERRO OF SCANDINAVIA! MOVE AWAY, CHILD, OR YOU WILL GET HURT!” Alex rolled her eyes.  _ Oh My Gods, nobody knew your name _ , Alex thought. Taking her garrote out once more, Alex attacked.

 

    Taking down the king was easy. His arrogance made it easy to trick him into cutting Magnus’ chains. Soon enough, Magnus was free. Alex grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. They started running towards the wall. 

 

    Alex knew the perfect place for them to escape through the wall. Years ago, she had found a weak point in the wall and had used it several times to try and run away. The guards had always caught her before, Alex could have reached the forest.  _ Not today, you won’t _ , Alex thought as Magnus and she reached the wall. She kicked it and some of the some of the smaller stones fell. “Help, you idiot,” Alex scolded Magnus. He started kicking at the wall, too.

 

    After few minutes, there was a large enough hole for Magnus and Alex to leave. Magnus left first, leading  Alex into the forest. The warning bells were ringing again. A small army would probably be following them into the forest. 

 

    Alex cursed. Her skirt had ripped on a branch. She stopped. Magnus stopped and looked back at her with annoyance. “What is it?” he asked. Alex didn’t answer. She grabbed the part where the skirt was ripped. Alex ripped more of the skirt until it reached her knees.

 

    “Go,” Alex told Magnus. Once more, they ran through the forest.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

    Magnus was very confused. A billion questions were running through his head.  _ What is she doing? Why am I still running with her? I should ditch, shouldn’t I?  _ He should his head to clear his thoughts.  _ This is good. We have a bargaining chip against the king now. Can’t wait to tell the others. _

 

__ After a few more minutes of running, Alex stopped. She looked back and smiled slightly. “Where are your friends camping?” she asked.

 

    “Why did you help me?”

 

    “Because I could and I also like to annoy and disrespect my father. Now, will you be a dear and tell me which way to go.”

 

     “I don’t know which way to go.”

 

    Alex looked at him with an expression of disbelief. “What do you mean you don’t know? How could you not know which way to go?”

 

    “I obviously don’t know. It’s not like they could come into my room and give me a message.” Magnus was annoyed at her for asking. 

 

    “At least check your pockets,” Magnus growled. He put his hands into his pockets. In the left front pocket, he felt something scratchy brush against his fingers. He grabbed it and brought it out. Magnus looked at Alex. She had a very smug look on her face. Magnus growled. He opened the paper. On it was this message:

 

**Magnus, there is a small clearing next to a river.**

**Go there and u will meet T. J.**

**Hope u survive**

 

  * ****Helgi****



 

  
  


    Alex looked at Magnus in disbelief. “You have two spies in the castle!”

 

    Magnus nodded. “I say we go there and meet T. J. Do you know where it is?”

    “Obviously,” Alex answered. She pointed a finger in the direction of the clearing. They looked at each other and started running again. Magnus preyed to the gods that the guards would not find them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am ditching historical truth and just writing whatever the plot requires

    Running. Never stopping. Magnus was extremely tired from all the running. He wanted to stop, but he knew if they stopped, they would be caught. Alex hadn't stopped asking questions about him. He had ignored most of them, but sometimes she hit a sore spot. Those were questions he couldn’t help cringing at, but he still didn’t answer them. He could tell that Alex had tons of patience since she hadn’t complained about him not answering.

 

    Suddenly, Alex stopped talking and held up her hand to stop Magnus from walking. He looked at her questioningly. Then, he heard it. The neighs of horses and the crunching of leaves. Soldiers were coming this way. Magnus walked up to a fallen log and hid behind it. Alex joined him.

 

    The soldiers appeared a few feet away from them. They were talking. Soldier 1 said, “I can’t believe that girly betrayed the king.” The other nodded. “She is so ungrateful. The king will probably burn her for that. I wish lighting the fires was my job. I would love to burn her. How did she even get a knife? Women are not strong enough to fight. They are only good for bearing children. Even then they die from that. My wife, she is only good for cleaning and cooking. Horrible mother, though. Never gave me a son. She gets what she deserves, though.” The soldier smiled evilly at his partner. The other one smiled back with the same horrible grin. That broke Magnus’s nerve. 

 

    He jumped from his hiding and attacked the guards. He pulled at the runestone necklace. Sumarbrander appeared in his hand. Soldier 1 was the closest to Magnus. Magnus only saw the look of horror on his face before he stabbed him square in the chest. He then attacked the other asshat. The other soldier had more time to prepare. Magnus’s sword clashed against the soldier’s. It was easy to disarm him though. Magnus slashed through his armor and killed him. Blood splashed him in the face. He wiped it with his sleeve. Magnus turned to see Alex’s completely horror-filled face. 

 

    She was standing over soldier 1’s body. Magnus didn’t show his emotions to her though. He cursed internally. Now how was he going to reach the meeting place? Alex finally spoke up, “Why did you kill them?” Her voice was quiet. 

 

    “They deserved it. Talking that way and abusing your wife is not okay in my book. I will never stand it,” Magnus answered. He willed his sword back to a pendant and put it on his neck. Alex was now looking at the corpses of the soldiers. Magnus saw realization dawn over her as the bodies were burned into her skull. Magnus remembered looking exactly like that after the first murder he had seen. It had taken some time to get used to it. After a while, it didn’t faze him at all. “It is advisable that you get used to it. If you don’t want to go back to your father, you’re gonna have to join our little group.”

 

    She looked him dead the eyes. Magnus saw a wall building up. “What about your sword? Why didn’t you use it to break out of jail?” Magnus didn’t answer instead he turned to the horses. They kept calm when he inspected their saddles. There was a little bit of water and food in the bags. He smiled and heaved himself up on the horse. He looked back at Alex. She had walked over to the other horse. Magnus looked at her as she gracefully sat on the horse. It was ridiculous. You can’t just gracefully get on a horse. “What?” Magnus realized he had been staring with his mouth open.

 

    “Lead the way,” he said. Alex waved the reigns and the horse started moving in a slow gallop towards the clearing.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

    An hour later and Magnus was noticing the trees weren’t as tightly knit together as before. Alex suddenly started slowing down to a trot. Magnus followed her lead. He had started hearing the sounds of a river. The trees had cleared up and Magnus saw a clearing in the distance. There was a figure of a horse and two people by it.  _ Two. T.J., who else did you bring?  _ Alex’s horse breached the sunlight and, finally, so did Magnus’s. 

 

    T.J. was standing next to his horse with Samirah al-Abbas. Magnus brought his horse to the river and jumped off. He walked towards where his friends were standing. Alex stood behind. “Guys!” Sam and T.J. turned around and ran towards him. T.J. hugged him and Sam shook his hand. Sam had recently joined their group. She was there mostly because her father was their boss. “Did she really save you?” T.J. asked moving his head towards Alex. Magnus nodded. Sam started walking towards her. Magnus and T.J. followed. 

 

     “Alex, I know what you are thinking. How can a bunch of teenagers murder a bunch of people? Well Magnus and T.J. are doing it to survive. I am doing it because I have no choice,” Sam said. She turned her head back towards the boys. Her eyes asked the question she couldn’t say out loud;  _ Should  I tell her? _ Magnus shook his head,  _ no _ . Sam sighed and turned her head back towards Alex.   

 

    Alex took a deep breath. “I understand, Sam. I will join your group. I have no other choice, do I? What do I have to do?”

 

    T.J. smiled. A sort of sad smile. “We will meet the others at their camp. Then Magnus will get a vision from the boss about you joining us. Then, Sam and I will return to the castle and you will either be killed, if the boss doesn’t let you join us, or you will start your career as a fugitive of the law. I guess you already are but that’s not important. Alright, gang, we ride in 10 minutes.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

     Alex was not expecting such an organized camp. She expected three or more small tents but this was certainly not a part of her vision. About 5 tents were arranged in a circle in a clearing near the edge of the forest. They weren’t small either about as big as a small cottage. In the center of the said circle was a fire already burning. Alex looked at the sky it was starting to set. How had she not noticed that? 

 

     Magnus walked up to the largest tent and walked inside. T.J. and Sam waited with Alex. A few minutes later, Magnus was coming out of the tent with a man and a girl in toll. The guy was about 6 feet tall with wild hair and beard. He only wore pants and had 2 huge double-bladed axes on his back. The girl was 5 feet and 4 inches and had extremely red hair. On her thighs were 2 very beautifully made daggers. “Alright, here come the introductions. The big guy is Halfborn and the short girl is Mallory,” Magnus said. He then turned to the others. “This is Alex. She might be joining our little band.” 

 

    Halfborn came closer to Alex and looked her dead in the eye-raising an eyebrow. Alex didn’t even flinch. She stared at him back. After 30 seconds, Halfborn looked away and started laughing. “She is a tough one. I like her already. It would be a shame to kill you,” he said. 

 

    Mallory was next to inspect Alex. Halfborn started talking with Magnus, T.J. and Sam. Mallory didn’t look her in the eyes. She inspected Alex’s clothes and face. She didn’t seem extremely satisfied with Alex as much as Halfborn. Mallory turned to look at Magnus. “What can she do?” she asked. 

 

         “How about you do that after dinner? T. J. and I have to head back,” Sam spoke up. Mallory narrowed her eyes. Sam walked over to Alex. “You are going to be fine, don’t worry. This is the last we will see each other for a while, so it has been really nice having you as a friend.” Sam gave Alex a hug. That surprised Alex but Alex hugged her back.

 

    “Bye, guys. I hope we see each other on the same side of the battlefield, “ T.J.  said and rode off with Sam. Alex turned to look at the others. Mallory had her hands crossed, Halfborn was looking at her with curiosity and Magnus was looking at her with pity. Yep, this was going to be great. 

 

    They walked over to the fire and sat around it. At some point, Mallory had gotten up and had brought four plates filled with only meat. It didn’t taste great, but Alex was starving so she ate it with joy. After finishing up and putting away the plate, the sun had set and the only light was coming from the fire. “Alright, now that we have finished up, I want Alex to spar with me,” Mallory said. Alex would have gladly gotten up to show her that she wasn’t worthless, but Magnus intervened before anything could happen. 

 

    “Mallory, can we please do this in the morning? I’m tired and I want to rest in peace,” Magnus said. Mallory humphed. “Fine, but tomorrow we will see if she is worth anything,” Mallory murmured and walked into one of the smaller tents. Halfborn departed with a salute and walked into his tent. Magnus sighed and motioned Alex over the remaining tent. 

 

    “You can sleep in here.” He walked into the tent. It was a room. A fully furnished room with a wardrobe and a desk with a chair next to it. A bed was right in the middle surrounded by a carpet. Alex’s eyes were wide. This was certainly not what she was expecting.

 

    “That’s really nice, but where are you going to sleep?” Alex asked. 

    “The main tent. It has a small bed that I can use.” was his answer. Alex didn’t complain. She didn’t say anything. Magnus exited, leaving her alone. She sighed and went over to the bed. She was exhausted and a good night sleep never bothered anyone. A few minutes later and she had fallen asleep.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

    Magnus honestly wanted to punch himself in the face. Why had he agreed to this? During one of the days in prison, Loki had told him to get the princess to like him. He said there was something important that she was going to do. Magnus didn’t even have a choice, but it calmed him down to think that he did. 

 

    He walked into the common use tent and went over to the bed. Exhaustion rolled over him like waves. He laid down and closed his eyes. As if on cue as soon as he had fallen asleep, Loki appeared in his dream.   

 

     Magnus found himself back in the king’s throne room. Loki was lounging on the throne. “You are probably wondering why I called you here,” Loki said, smiling evilly. His scarred face made the image scarier. “About my …… daughter, she can join your team. I don’t have a list of targets for you yet and you need to bond. I saw the way Mallory acted. I think team building exercises are important for your team.” Magnus wanted to slap himself but suppressed it. Loki always said stupid stuff. Magnus just nodded. Loki seemed satisfied. “Wonderful, you can wake up now.” Loki snapped his fingers. Magnus jumped awake in his bed. 

 

   A few hours later, he was telling Mallory about his dream. Mallory was beyond angry. She was cussing in her native language and throwing things. “She-,” Mallory started to say but Alex interrupted her. “He,” Alex said. Magnus looked Alex questioningly. “My pronouns today are he, his, him. Problem?” Alex said. Mallory and Magnus were speechless. Alex smiled. “You wanted to see what I can do, Mallory. Then let’s go.” Alex walked out of the tent. Mallory smiled and walked out right behind him. Magnus thought about what had happened a bit, then just brushed it off. He walked out to see the fight.

 

    Alex was on one side of the clearing and Mallory was on the other. Mallory had taken out her daggers out and Alex had taken out what looked like a garrote. Alex threw it at Mallory. The garrote wrapped itself on one of Mallory’s dagger. Mallory pulled at it. Alex didn’t budge but pulled as hard as possible and Mallory’s dagger flew out of her hand and into Alex’s. Mallory was surprised but ran towards Alex. Alex put Mallory’s dagger up to block Mallory’s strike. He used his garrote and tied it around Mallory’s foot and pulled. Mallory fell and Alex jumped over her and put her dagger to Mallory’s throat. 

 

    Magnus walked over to where they were and pulled Alex off Mallory. “Well now that we are done with this, the boss said you can join but he doesn’t have our targets yet. That means that we will be here for one more day,” Magnus said. “Now that means that we should talk about some things.”    


	5. This Chapter Title Should Be The One From The Last Chapter And Other Things

    After the little duel between Mallory and Alex things were a bit less heated. Magnus had informed Halfborn about it and had called everyone to the main tent for a team meeting. He was planning to say certain things about his dream to the others. Certain things. 

 

    “So, what you are telling me is you let a little gi-boy kick your arse. You disappoint me sometimes, Mallory,” Halfborn said upon entering the tent. “Honestly, woman, you call yourself a warrior.”

 

    “Halfborn, he was obviously very well trained and it was our job in the first place to capture the princess, or I guess, the prince,” Mallory answered savagely.  

 

    “Guys, stop it. We need to discuss more important matters,” Magnus intervened, just as Alex entered the tent.

 

    “Alright, I’m here you can start,” Alex said. 

 

    “Alright, we are gathered here today to talk about the initiation of Alex Fierro. Now what the boss said was that he is welcomed into our little gang. Something else is we don’t have targets yet but the boss said that we need some …. uh …. team building exercises.

 

    “Okay, cool, cool, but who’s your boss?” Alex said. The other three looked at each other. Magnus was expecting him to ask that. He was debating to what to say when Mallory intervened.

 

    “Loki; Loki, the Trickster God.” Alex looked at each of them with disbelief. He had his mouth opened in shock. Realizing that Mallory wasn’t lying, he closed his mouth and spoke:

 

    “You know, why am I even surprised? A bunch of teenagers killing people. No wonder Loki is your leader, but does that mean the people you killed are demigods?”

 

    “Yes, they were demigods,” Halfborn spoke up. “Magnus here is also a demigod, I’m fully human and Mallory is unknown.”

 

    “Anyway, what I was thinking is that we play two truths and one lie as a teambuilding exercise,” Magnus said. “Ok, here I go; my mother died when I was 14, my cousin is a dwarf and he is not in love with his best friend.” ****

 

     “That’s too easy. We’ve met Blitz; he and Hearth are totally together,” Mallory said loudly. Halfborn nodded enthusiastically. Alex looked at them with a raised eyebrow but shrugged.

 

    “Yeah, that’s true. Alex hasn’t met them so I thought it was a good idea to go with that,” Magnus said. “Who wants to go next?”

 

    “I’ll go,” Halfborn said and took a seat on the floor. The others followed his example and sat down, forming a circle around him. “The reason I am here is that I am skilled with all weapons, Mallory and I used to date, and Magnus is my best friend.”

 

    This time Alex answered the fastest. “Magnus isn’t your best friend.” Halfborn looked surprised but nodded.

 

    Magnus looked heartbroken. “I’m not your best friend? Also, how did you know?”

 

    Alex shrugged, “It’s obvious he has used all weapons because of his build, and Mallory and he look at each other and try to be as far away from each other as possible.” Magnus stared at him. Mallory made a face of understanding. “My turn now. I have heterochromia, my mother is a witch and I hid a dagger in my boot this morning.”

 

    “Your mother isn't a witch,” Mallory, Halfborn, and Magnus all said simultaneously. Alex wasn't exactly surprised. He knew they all had an idea about who his mother was. 

 

    “So, does anyone want to tell me who my mother is?” he said with an annoyed tone. The other looked at each other and probably had a mental conversation. Finally, Magnus turned to him.

 

    “Your mother is Loki,” Magnus said completely seriously. Alex would have laughed but he realized that Magnus was as serious as his tone. “Ok, so should we continue with our game?” Alex nodded, even though he wanted to ask more questions.

 

    The next few hours were partially awkward and partially funny. During the trust falls, Halfborn almost smushed everyone who tried to catch him. Mallory let Alex fall to the ground every time. When Alex had had enough, he caught Mallory then just dropped her. The talking games were much much better since no one tried to kill the other. The break for lunch was probably the best because no one said a word. Towards the end of the day, everyone gathered in the middle of the camp for training. 

 

    “Thank you for letting me out after almost two days of sleep,” Jack the sword came out of pendant form. Alex almost screamed when Jack started talking. His runes glowing an angry red. 

 

    “Your sword talks,” he said finally. First, her mom was the leader of murderers and now a talking sword. Alex was definitely going to go insane with these people. 

 

    “Who’s the extremely observant one?” Jack asked sarcastically. Alex looked at the sword angrily. 

 

    “Jack, play nice. This is Alex. He is our new teammate. He’s the son of Loki, the one we went to jail for,” Magnus said.

 

    “I thought we were going to get a girl, but okay,” was the only thing Jack said. 

 

    “Ignore him,” Magnus said to Alex. “You can go against Halfborn for now.”

 

    After about an hour of getting his butt handed to him, Alex switched and went against Magnus. He smiled at Alex and Alex felt the need to punch him in the face. He raised his garrote and Magnus raised his sword. Jack was on the sidelines getting ready to comment and complain about their fighting. 

 

    Magnus was the one to strike first, mostly because they just kept circling each other for 5 minutes. He slashed at Alex with his sword. Alex easily dodged and waited for the next strike. His plan was to figure out how Magnus fought and use that to take him down. Unlike his fight with Mallory, he needed to be patient. Mallory had expected somebody weak and scared, so Alex had used surprise for an advantage. If Magnus hadn’t pulled them apart, Mallory would’ve most likely killed him. 

 

   Alex threw her garrote at Magnus to see how he would react. He dodged out of its way and moved slightly closer. He slashed at Alex again. This time Alex used his garrote and wrapped it around Magnus’s sword. Alex pulled on the sword, but it didn’t budge from Magnus’s hand. He pulled on it with all his strength but the sword didn’t come out of Magnus’s hand. Before Alex could untangle the garrote off the sword, Magnus had pulled. Alex started moving towards Magnus, slowly but surely. Alex tried to fight the pull but couldn’t. 

 

    Finally, he reached Magnus. Magnus dropped the sword and all the garrote line he had pulled, grabbed Alex’s arms and judo flipped Alex in under ten seconds. He quickly picked up the sword, the garrote still around it, and pointed it under Alex’s chin. Jack whooped from his place on the sidelines and Mallory and Halfborn, who had stopped fighting to watch what happens, clapped. Magnus moved away from Alex and gave him a hand to give up. Alex took it and got up. 

 

    The sun had started setting and was bathing the clearing with golden light. In that light, Magnus’s hair glowed like a halo and Alex found himself admiring it. When he realized that, Alex cursed at himself. Halfborn was the first to suggest dinner and everyone agreed with him. Mallory and Halfborn went to get the food and plates while Alex and Magnus build a fire. “How did you do that?” Alex finally asked.

 

    “What?” Magnus answered.

 

    “How did you stay in one spot while I was pulling on the sword with all my strength?”

 

    “Simple. I glued myself to the ground. I have the weight advantage so I made sure I was in a good spot to make sure I had footholds that would make me stay in place. Also, you use your garrote as a rope as much as a whip-knife type of thing. Strategy.”

 

    “I’m surprised that worked,” Jack inputted. “As a child of Loki you have some extraordinary abilities but you don’t seem to be able to use them. If you did, then you would have easily beat Magnus.”

 

    “Thanks?” Alex said. 

 

    After dinner, everyone departed for their tents. Alex headed towards the one she had previously slept in. 

 

     When Alex fell asleep, he found himself in the middle of a field. In front of him was a man with dirty blonde hair and fiery eyes. The thing you most noticed about him was all the giant burn scars across the face. He was wearing the traditional Viking armor. “Who are you?” Alex asked.

 

    “You don’t recognize me. I’m your mom, honey,” the man said with mock love. “I guess you don’t recognize me in this appearance but unfortunately I can’t appear in another one at the moment. I'm a bit tied up.” 

    “You are Loki?” Alex said with raised eyebrows.

 

    “What did you expect? Family meetings are not I’m here for. I’m here to tell you about your abilities. You can shapeshift into anything and the small ability to do magic. Go you!”

 

    “That’s really the only thing you are here for?”

 

    “Yeah. Also that you should go to Blitzen’s house if you want the list to your next targets. That's about it. Wake up now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated things in a while, but I'm back. Hopefully, I can upgrade more consistently. For the Alex/Magnus fight scene, I just flipped a coin to see who would win. The winner wasn't intentional. Also, that's actual science (kinda). Hope you liked the chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave kudos and comments, please.


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